Visions of Sugar Plums

My Brother Alan and his wife Julie doubled with us on a great date to see the Moscow Ballet perform in the Nutcracker. It was a perfectly lovely night that started at our favorite Italian restaurant in town. And ended at the casino. I am not exactly sure why one of the world's premier ballet companies chose to perform at such a high class joint like the Hard Rock casino, but hey, it meant cheap tickets for us. The only price we had to pay was reeking of smoke and being blocked by the people walking through the isles with their tubs of popcorn, and wine in plastic champagne glasses. Classy. When it was all said and done, we got one man with a killer mullet to take our picture:

I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful time of year and taking a moment to enjoy the finer things in life like the ballet at Hard Rock Casino.

Thanksgiving 2010

I thought I lost the camera cord and am way behind on posts. So here goes the catching up:

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We were all together, (sans Spencer, who decided to go and get a job in retail just before black Friday) which these days is quite the feat.  Most of us packed into a car and looked forward to warmer weather in Sunny Arizona. It was warm and we were able to enjoy some of the best food ever eaten on thanksgiving (thanks to the gourmand Dahl girls), football in 60 degree weather, great company and great shopping. Here are some highlights: 

Owen at the Park

I braided the girls' hair in "Princess Crowns"

Charlie doing his thing

Count um: 9 Pies! Pumpkin, Apple, Cherry, Pecan and Pear/ Pineapple mmm

Host and his lovely Hostess

Beautiful Sister Hillary

Alan and Julie barely made it, driving through icy roads.

I realize I am looking a little greasy but c'mon, it was Thanksgiving!

Irony at best

Everyone's a Lobo...Woof Woof Woof

This weekend marks a great event for my family each year. BYU vs. UNM football. Up until I entered Bergstendom there was no other team but the Cougars. To Joe, there is no other team than the Lobos. There is no doubt that the Lobos are not going to win as noted here.  I will however always cheer for Cherry and Silver if it is at the Pit. We made it there last weekend, and it was awesome! The multimillion remodel is amazing!

TechnoViking

First watch this:


And then see my brother's own interpretation that he did for Halloween:

Paris, Je t'aime!

Nothing can quite do this trip justice. It was the biggest whirl wind of events. I have never been so lucky in all my life to be able to see so much with so little time, and not have to pay one dime for it all. I guess there are some perks of being a teacher. Some of the things that I loved that are not pictured: The fall leaves in the Versailles gardens, a river cruise down the Seine, a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower at night, all the wonderful things I bought on Le Champs Elysee, the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay (my fave), Versailles at a distance, the amazing food I ate, and all the wonderful people I met. Joe and I are already planning our trip back.

La Tour Eiffel

Notre Dame

 

Adorable French Man that serenaded us at dinner one night

Latin Quarters

L'arc de Triomphe

Versailles gardens. I don't look touristy at all with that yellow box and blue lanyard around my neck, now do I?

Hall of Mirrors. This picture does not do it justice

La Victoire

A Man at Monmartre

Sacre Couer

Ignore the woman who hasn't slept in 36 hours. At the top of Monmartre.

I miss the streets already.

The view from Marie Antoinette's room!

My Boyfriend's Back!

Two of the longest months of my life are over.  Joe came home a day early and surprised me by showing up at a play that I was at with a dozen roses. I have never been happier.  I missed this cute face far too much!

Check

I feel like I have not spent a lot of time sleeping in the past 5 days, probably because I just checked "Weekend Trip to Paris"  off my bucket list. But let me tell ya that city deserves way more than just a weekend. I will be sure to post more as soon as I am back to a normal sleep schedule. (Which may not happen with my papers that are due this week.)

Flying home from Paris   

Chi Town

This last month has been long, busy and a difficult one for me. There has been a severe lack of blog posts because I have had nothing to talk about without a hubby around. He has been living in Champaign, Illinois for the last month taking a prep course for his board exams. This weekend I was able to go out and meet him in Chicago before he embarks on another month. The trip was short lived no doubt, but oh so well deserved!
Here are some of the highlights:

View from our hotel room by day. We were on the 34th floor.

View from our hotel room by night. Okay, not really. It is just a bad picture of me, but you get the idea.

I loved every little detail about all the architecture in this city. Joe has always loved Chicago and now it is definitely in our top 5 for residencies.

We found the most amazing antique hat shop. I could not get enough of it.

"Santa Fe, do you swear you won't forget me?

Water tower. Not much to see inside, but a gorgeous structure.

Fountain near Millennium Park

It was about 50- 60 degrees all weekend.

Millennium Park

Cancer Survivor's garden

 

 

 

 

 

We also ate a lot of great food of which I did not document. Our favorite place was a spot called "Eve." Not only did we have brunch there twice and absolutely love it, but the interior was enough to make my heart pitter patter. Check it out.  The Croque Monsieur with Mapel Beschamel topped our list.
Who would have ever thought I would have loved the midwest so much? I am already counting the days until we can both go back. But mostly I am counting the days until I can just have a husband again. Sigh. Last month here we go.
Next Stop: Paris. No.  Really.

Labor Day 10K

Running in at the finish line

We all placed in our age groups!

Digging these...

Who else is in love with these vintage laced oxfords lately?

Via Etsy ... if only I were a size 9